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How Leaders Will Use AI as a Strategic Peer in 2026

For the past few years, we’ve treated AI like a high-speed encyclopedia or a glorified intern, useful for answering questions, drafting emails, or summarizing long PDFs. We called it "Prompt Engineering," but in reality, it was just a more sophisticated form of Q&A. In 2026, we predict the end of the 'Ask and Receive' era. Forward-thinking leaders will move beyond AI as a high-speed utility and will instead engage it as a strategic adversary. This shift is a direct response t

5 days ago4 min read

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The AI Investment Litmus Test: 4 Questions to Ask Before Spending a Dollar

Imagine this: A senior executive recently confessed their biggest fear. It wasn't a market downturn or a new competitor. It was their upcoming board meeting, where they’d inevitably be asked, "So, what is our AI strategy?" Their company had allocated millions for "AI transformation," but the fund sat largely untouched. Why? Because every proposal that crossed their desk felt like a solution in search of a problem—expensive, complex, and disconnected from the P&L. This scenari

Oct 6, 20254 min read

When AI Flattens Strategy, How Will You Compete?

A staggering 78% of organizations now report using AI in at least one business function, propelled by the conviction that it will deliver a decisive competitive edge (McKinsey & Company, 2025; Ransbotham et al, 2020). Yet, this is where the new competitive paradox of the AI era emerges. As AI becomes a ubiquitous, commoditized utility, its power to confer a unique advantage diminishes. When every competitor leverages the same powerful, off-the-shelf models, the inevitable ou

Oct 1, 20255 min read

Preparing the Next Generation to Shape What’s Next

Across boardrooms, classrooms, and dinner tables, a single narrative about the future is quietly shaping how an entire generation thinks...

Sep 23, 20258 min read

Developing "Human-in-the-Loop" Skills

The conversation around leadership is shifting. We've moved beyond simply "adopting AI" to the more critical challenge of "integrating...

Sep 22, 20254 min read

What’s Keeping Executives Up at Night: AI, Economics, Talent, and Trust

Executives across the globe are grappling with a complex and evolving business landscape as they navigate the disruptive force of...

Sep 13, 20253 min read

Curiosity as Strategy: What Business Leaders Can Learn from Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas

At HubSpot’s recent conference, Aravind Srinivas, Co-Founder of Perplexity, delivered a talk that was equal parts provocative and...

Sep 11, 20253 min read

Leading Employees Past AI Fear

Across industries, an obstacle to AI adoption is shifting from technology to mindset. When employees view AI as a threat instead of a...

Aug 29, 20255 min read

The Psychology of Voice: Constructive Dissent as the Core Skill for Fearless Organizations

By Severin Sorensen, Hayden Browning, with contributions from AIWhisperer.org ’s PromptSensei and Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Research, August 16, 2025 Innovation Demands Risky Speech Today’s executives face a leadership paradox. In a world that prizes innovation, agility, and ethical vigilance, the behaviors required to achieve these goals—questioning flawed strategies, flagging risks, or proposing disruptive ideas—carry significant interpersonal risk. Employees often choose silence

Aug 22, 20255 min read

The Future of Search Belongs to AI Engines

For nearly two decades, the rules of digital engagement were clear: design mobile-friendly sites, generate authoritative backlinks, and...

Aug 19, 20255 min read

From Task-Runner to Thinking Partner: How AI Built a McKinsey-Grade Model in 105 Minutes

On July 31, 2025, I read a Wall Street Journal article titled “The AI Company Capitalizing on Our Obsession With Excel.” I searched for...

Aug 14, 20256 min read

AI Won’t Replace Your Thinking—Unless You Let It

Rather than defaulting to an immediate answer, I approached the problem as I believe all high-quality problem-solving should begin: by...

Aug 12, 20254 min read

When Change Is Looming: What the Weaving Loom Teaches Us About AI’s 5-Year Horizon

We stand at another inflection point, hearing the steady clack-clack of progress in the distance. Only this time the shuttle moving...

Aug 7, 20256 min read

From Availability to Attention: The New CEO Productivity Playbook

When decisions move at the speed of algorithms and strategic shifts occur in weeks, not years, the classic time management playbook fails...

Aug 6, 20253 min read

AI Implementation Is Failing—But Not for the Reasons You Think

AI adoption across the enterprise landscape has accelerated dramatically. Today, 78% of organizations report using AI in at least one...

Aug 1, 20253 min read

Mastering Mid-Year Excellence: Seven Pillars for Elevating Your Executive Coaching

As we step into the second half of the year, it’s an ideal moment to evaluate and elevate your executive coaching approach. To support...

Jul 24, 20254 min read

Unlocking Efficiency: The Power of Pareto Analysis in Executive Leadership

Rooted in the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, this analysis offers a powerful lens through which leaders can discern the...

Jul 23, 20254 min read

To Win the Human, Sell to the Algorithm

In the earliest days of the internet, websites were storefronts. In the Web 2.0 era, they became interactive platforms. Today, a new...

Jul 17, 20254 min read

Voice-First Productivity: The 3x Advantage for Executives

With a single behavioral shift—speaking instead of typing—knowledge workers can unlock 3x productivity gains and fundamentally reshape...

Jul 15, 20253 min read

The “Brutal Honesty” Era of Talent Acquisition

This week, we’re spotlighting a new trend in recruiting: the emergence of direct, expectation-laden job postings, or what The Wall Street...

Jul 11, 20253 min read

What If AI Became Self-Aware? A Review of the Experimental Framework Testing That Question

As AI systems grow more sophisticated and embedded in the fabric of organizational life, a provocative question begins to surface—not...

Jul 8, 20256 min read

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